Wow, another year gone.
Let me see….what went on in 2008?
Gary and I traveled to Arizona to celebrate
my father in law’s 80th birthday in January.
We welcomed a new family member (niece)
into the world….Reese, in February.
Traveled to Mexico Twice…
Once with Gary to Playa~
And once with my sister and her family
to Cabo in March (like the day after I
got home from Playa!)
Celebrated Tim & Laurie’s 25th Wedding
anniversary in April
And my 46th Birthday…
(thanks for the cupcakes Ron & Cindy!)
Birthday lunch with Jacquie at Redstone!
Visited my friend Megan in Chicago
I met Sam Puc of NILMDTS fame at her
Bellies and Babies Tour.
The wedding season hit in May
And so did Boo!
Born February 25th and he came to
be with Gary and I on May 5th.
More weddings in June
June was also a busy month for family.
My mom had back surgery and once that was
completed they hauled her back in for a
perforation in her bowel..NOT good.
Emergency surgery and nearly a month in
the hospital and the connected rehab
facility. My mom LOVES this photo! 
July brought with it many birthdays, the
MiracleKids Triathlon in Chanhassen, a HUGE
4th of July celebration at my sister’s
and the horrific loss of my beloved, Hobie.
At the age of 12, he was tired of the fight
with his colon and decided that he wouldn’t
leave us with the decision to put him down.
He passed peacefully on July 29th. We’ll miss
him forever.
August brought more weddings,
More High School Senior Portraits…
And my decision to go forward with my
SCUBA certification!
I’ll be all set this winter when I
return to Mexico! 
As August drew to a close, we all
wished G well as she headed off for
her freshman year at Missouri State!
Soon after, I opened a Facebook account so that
I could keep in touch with G while she was away.
The end of August, the RNC came to town and altho’
I was selected, back in January, by a firm out
east to assist in covering it, I declined in the
days leading up to the convention. I was thrilled
to be considered and I have the folks at Starkey
to thank!
September, Gary and I celebrated our 10th
anniversary with a night out..nothing big.
We decided that with the airfare being so
disgustingly outrageous (even to Chicago it
was about 800 bucks round trip!), our anniversary
could be just as easily celebrated her in
Minneapolis.
October is the busiest month for birthdays
in my family..starting with Gary. Therefore,
much cake was consumed in that month! UGH!
I met Jo Mosely, on Facebook after I opened
my account, through a colleague of mine.
We chatted it up for a few weeks online and
then I traveled to Albert Lea to meet her.
She has spent Thanksgiving with my family,
Christmas and now, at this very moment,
she is driving from Rochester, MN where she’s
just had a full body scan at MAYO and will
be joining Gary and I at the Hilton tonight
for the Miracles of Mitch Foundation’s 4th
Annual New Year’s Eve Gala.
October also marked another dark day for
Gary and I. 11 weeks to the day, after putting
Hobie down, we had to put our beloved Katie down.
Katie was Hobie’s sister, litter mate and I
held her as she went to sleep. It was horrid.
I am so thankful for Boo who was a gift from
my dear, dear sister, Anne…I love you Anne!
November…Election year, so no surprises
there…we are still awaiting the outcome
of the winner in the Senate race for Minnesota
between Rep. incumbent, Norm Coleman
and the DFL candidate (and it even pains me to
type his name here in my blog) Al Franken.
To date, they are separated by just 50 votes!
December…wow, how it flies by!
I opted out of cookie baking with my sister
this year. I won’t be making that same choice
next year, I actually missed that time with Anne.
Anne & Pete hosted Christmas Eve with the
whole Craig clan and friends (Freeses & Jo)
Gary and I hosted Christmas Day here with
his family and Jo. Yasuko and Mariko prepared
their famous Japanese stir fry. Soooo delicious
Also in 2008 countless NILMDTS sessions, countless
Minnesota Miracle weekends for cancer families
at the Hilton, countless makeovers for my hair
clients, countless bon fires out front with Gary,
countless get togethers with neighbors and friends!
if I’ve missed anything, I apologize. Clearly,
it’s been a big year!
I love all of you and I appreciate your dedication
to my blog even when it goes dark from time to
time. For those of you far, far away, please
continue to comment and for those of you that are
near, let’s make 2009 a time to make time to
get together more often. Besides, I need to get
out of the house on occasion!
Happy New Year to all!
Make all the changes you can so as to not regret
one single moment in the coming year.
See you at the Hilton!
Peace.